Fools Rush In And Black Sheep Do Likewise
by RowdyClara
Summary: INCOMPLETE: A story inspired by Hogan MacGyver's story "The Triple Mess". Hope you like it! Rated T for the downing of some planes, war, and minor references to alcoholic beverages.
1. Destination: Vella la Cava

**Fools Rush In…and Black Sheep Do Likewise**

_Author's Note: In reality, I am not a pilot nor am I quite yet old enough to obtain a Private Pilot's license. You must be 17 to apply for a private pilot's license. I do not take lessons as of yet but have been studying and saving for over a year. I _am_ an artist though and I _am_ sometimes called Yope by close relatives and friends. Clara has always been a favorite name of mine so that's why it's there in my pen name. If you've read my profile, you can probably guess that the part about me being a big fan of Robert Conrad is also true. I haven't seen a whole lot of "Black Sheep Squadron" so I hope I've got the characters down right._

_I was inspired to do this story by Hogan MacGyver's story "_The Triple Mess_" (a Hogan's Heroes/Black Sheep Squadron crossover). It's a great story, so why don't you check it out? Thanks for writing that terrific story, Hogan MacGyver! _

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the character's from the TV shows. And if the airplane's registration number in this story is a real registration number, it is merely coincidental._

**Chapter 1 Destination: Vella la Cava**

I never thought it could have ever happened. Well, not to me anyway. I mean I've always been fascinated with time travel and have often wondered if it might be possible, but…I'm getting ahead of myself.

My story begins at our local airfield where I rent a Cessna 182. I'm an artist and a private pilot; I just got my instrument rating five months ago and my license two years ago. Oh, my name is Precious Hope, sometimes I'm called Yope - it's sort of a nickname - and I'm a fanfiction writer. Around the fanfic world, I'm known as RowdyClara and so far I've been mostly writing Wild, Wild West and Rawhide stories. And those who call me Precious usually get the glaring of a lifetime. I'm also a big fan of Robert Conrad and email him regularly.

Anyways, getting back to what happened, my dad drove me out to the airfield one morning and dropped me off. Today was the big day! I had finally saved up enough money to buy my own plane and was going to take my first flight in a plane to call my very own! I'd found out from the man who had been my flight instructor that a homemade plane that I'd flown in a couple of times and enjoyed was for sale.

The owner had made it to look like a F4U-Corsair on the outside but on the inside the instrument panel was modern and easy to use. Except for the fact that the owner had decided to keep a stick instead of a wheel to steer it with. Unlike a Corsair, also called "The Ensign Killer", which required an experienced pilot with plenty of skill, this baby had been modified so it no longer had most of those killer blind spots. It still had that tail wheel so taking off and seeing down the runway was a bit harder than with the Cessna, I still loved flying it. He had even gone as far as to redo the opening of the cockpit so that it slid open on the top like a real Corsair. It must've really taken a lot of time and money. He'd taught me a lot about the plane when he'd let me fly in it before and had even taught me a couple of tricks used to escape from 'the enemy' in the air. It was fun even though I doubt I'd ever have to use them.

I was kind of fond of the old bird and I'd been looking for a plane to call my own since I'd gotten my license. The manager of the airfield insisted that I take it out for a spin the week before and I did. It was swell and ran as smooth as ever! I practiced a couple of stalls and spins while trying the plane out and she did perfect. My instructor encouraged me to buy it. So that's what I did.

I waved to Charlie, one of the mechanics at the field. The sun was just dawning when I finished doing my pre-flight check. I climbed into the cockpit and did a cabin check. After making sure everything was in order, I fastened my seat belt and adjusted my headset comfortably atop my brown hair, which didn't want to stay in place today. I brushed my bangs out of the way and yelled, "Clear!" before sliding the canopy closed.

After starting up the engine, I looked around to make sure no other planes were about to takeoff and that none were about to land on the grass landing strip. The airfield where I trained and flew didn't have a control tower so we had to work on a see-and-be-seen basis.

All clear. The 'Corsair' taxied down the runway and I raised the flaps. It wasn't long before we reached the correct speed and I eased the nose of the plane upward.

I loved the thrill of taking off! The dawning sky was beautiful from up here. Everything looked so puny - even the buildings that had appeared so large from the ground downtown were like ants. And the river! The Ohio looked like a large, green line snaking across the land.

I would be taking my first flight in my plane to Georgia to see my best friend. I hadn't quite gotten up the courage to go see Robert Conrad at the radio station in California yet but…ah well. I was terrified I might embarrass myself and stutter or possibly, dare I say it? Faint. Yes, faint. I have never in my life fainted or even felt a bit faint but in a case like this, well, you must expect the un-expectable. My BFF might do the same if she met Michael Landon, Jr..

I usually flew to Georgia to see her every other weekend and we'd go shopping or something. This week we were going to go to an airshow which would include some WWII fighter planes and then on to a costume party that would take place after the show. I was going as a WWII Air Corps fighter pilot, a second Lieutenant to be exact. No point in getting greedy. And besides, I only owned a second lieutenant's insignia.

My bangs kept getting into my eyes, even though I kept them to the side, so I grabbed my flight cap that went with my costume out of the duffel bag behind my seat. I stuck my bangs under the cap and fastened it on. I'd tried to cut my hair and botched it but thankfully my sister had neatened it up for me so it didn't look so bad anymore. As a matter of fact, I was beginning to like the new do. Even though it was shorter than I was used to.

I was just entering the Georgia border when it happened. It was the strangest thing that's ever happened to me. I was cruising along smoothly and the winds were particularly calm this morning, when all of a sudden my craft seemed speed up suddenly. I had the strangest sensation of speed, yet the dials on the instrument panel showed everything to be normal. Huh. Odd. With my radio tuned into the correct frequency, I prepared to alert the control tower at my destination of my position and approximate arrival time.

"Atlanta Tower approach, this is Experimental 3-1-5 Hotel Yankee, 25 north, landing Atlanta Tower." Nothing. I checked my frequency again. It was correct. I tried again. "Atlanta Tower approach, Experimental 3-1-5 Hotel Yankee, 25 north, landing Atlanta Tower. Come in, Atlanta."

I was attempting to make contact with another nearby tower when I looked up from the controls and was shocked to see that my plane was engulfed in a heavy fog. But this wasn't your everyday, run-of-the-mill fog. It was kind of…reddish? We-ird. No problemo…or so I thought. I looked to my instrument panel so I could try to get out of the fog. The instruments were going haywire!

I continued trying to make contact with all nearby towers I could think of. With no success there, I decided to go a bit lower and try to get out of the mysterious, red tinted fog…and prayed that no other aircraft would be in the immediate area below.

Oh I made it out of the fog alright, but what I saw next gave me a real jolt.


	2. You Have Arrived

**Chapter 2 You Have Arrived**

_(This chapter contains a small air battle aka dogfight and the downing of a couple of planes.)_

I stared for a long time; my mind frozen by the shock of what I was seeing. Down below was a large body of water. The ocean. _I couldn't have flown completely through Georgia and Florida!_, I thought frantically. Maybe it was just me but the cabin of the plane also seemed a bit warmer than it had been. My flight jacket was making me even hotter.

Looking out the window again, I was pretty sure I saw land far up ahead. An island? I was trying to think how something like this could happen when my eyes slid down to the radio. The screen was blank and it appeared to have gone out. I decided to try it out and see if it was still kicking when I saw the gleam of another aircraft a ways off. It appeared to be following me.

Hey, neato! It looked like one of the planes that were scheduled to be in the airshow. A vintage Japanese Zero. There were two of them in the distance now. Hmm, looked like the owner had kept them in pretty good shape. I watched them for a little while until they went to a lower altitude and out of my sight. Then I started checking out my radio. I was about to speak into it when a voice came over.

"Black Sheep leader to Black Sheep Ground. Come in, Black Sheep Ground."

_Black Sheep? There weren't any airports with that ID that I knew of. Except on-_

"This is Black Sheep Ground. Go ahead, Pappy," another voice came over.

"Pappy?" I squeaked out. I hadn't realized I'd spoken into the mic.

"Casey? Something wrong with you?" Black Sheep Leader asked.

"It wasn't me!" Black Sheep Ground responded.

I refrained from squeaking out Casey too. Instead I took a deep breath and I held down the button to speak. _These guys were probably with the airshow and practicing their act for the show. _"This is Experimental 3-1-5 Hotel Yankee. I need directions and clearance to land on the nearest strip. Over." I waited for a reply.

It came. "Experimental 3-1-5 Hotel Yankee? This is Black Sheep Leader. What is your position?"

_Oh, geese*_. "Eh…I don't know. I got off course and my instrument panel konked out on me." _How embarrassing._

I looked out my window and spotted the two Zeros again. One zipped by and the other lingered behind. All of a sudden, the sound of rapid gunfire filled my ears.

"Hey, watch it, Buster!" I yelled into the mic, hoping that guy was on the same frequency. Those blanks were pretty realistic and had pretty near scared the life out of me.

"Hey, Yank?" It was Black Sheep Leader again.

"Listen, Jack, you better get your boys off my tail!" I said through grit teeth, because they were chattering, and I forgot all about radio etiquette.

"What?"

"Look, I know some of you stunt pilots think you're hot stuff, but this is too much!"

"Stunt pilots?" Black Sheep Leader paused. "All my boys are with me."

A new voice came over. "Wait a minute, Pappy. Yank, this is Black Sheep One. Those ain't our boys on you. But look out your window and up. You should see our squadron." I looked and just before bullets ripping into my left wing, I had a glimpse of about five F4U Corsairs. Those Zero's had real bullets! I guess those tricks I was taught _would_ come in handy. I dodged right, trying to avoid the Zeros guns and to give someone in the squadron a good clear shot at him.

"We're coming downstairs, Yank," Black Sheep Leader responded.

I can't ever remember being so scared in my life as when those bullets started raining down. The only explanation I could come up with was that somehow - someway - I hade gone back in time. Was it logical? One would often laugh and say no; but I was here and I sure wasn't in a laughing mood.

"The Zeke on Yank's tail is mine!" Black Sheep One cried, and I saw one of the Corsairs zip down and dive at the Zero who'd been doing most of the shooting. It wasn't long before Black Sheep One had him bagged. Then he and another Corsair from the squadron set on the Zero who was making a run for it. Just before I saw the remaining Zero go down, I felt my plane jolt and smoke and flames began to pour out from under the cowling.

"Bail out, Yank!" I'm not sure who it was who yelled.

"I'm bailin', I'm bailin'!" I yelled back. I quickly grabbed the life vest the previous owner had left under the seat and strapped on my parachute in record time. I have no idea how I managed it the way my fingers were shaking. Good thing I'd taken that pilot friend up on those parachuting classes.

I counted to ten and pulled the rip cord. I don't think I could ever get used to the snap when the parachute opened.

It wasn't long after the squadron disappeared from my sight when two men in a boat showed up. One wore khakis and a faded military green shirt; the other wore a Hawaiian shirt and a cowboy hat. They cut the motor and helped me into the boat. The one with the cowboy hat started up the boat again and the other helped onto one of the rear seats.

I shed my life vest and then realized I was shivering; the heavy, leather, flight jacket wasn't helping much. I was grateful when Green Shirt handed me a dry blanket which I wrapped around myself.

"Th-th-th-thanks." I managed to say through my chattering teeth.

He sat down beside me. "No problem. Sorry about your plane though." He nodded toward where we had seen the last of my plane go down. He held out a hand for me to shake, which I did. "My name's T.J.."

"H-H-Hope. Hope B-Burdette."

T. J. looked at me queerly but said nothing.

I cocked my head and gave him a crooked smile. "If don't like that, you can call me Yope."

"'Yope'?"

I shrugged. "Sort of a nickname, I guess."

He nodded. "Oh. We'll get you a warm drink over at our base so you can get warm and then take you over to the hospital on Espritos Marcos." I nodded and closed my eyes.

I must've fallen asleep on the way back because when I opened my eyes, T. J. was carrying me towards a large tent. "Wha-?" I started to question, then I remembered what had happened. And this only proved it more to me that I wasn't dreaming. I really _had_ traveled back in time. Not only that but I had landed right into the lap of the Black Sheep Squadron under Major Gregory 'Pappy' Boyington's command.

"You sure don't weigh much, Lieutenant." T. J. said, smiling.

I glared at him. "I can walk, thank you very much."

"Yeah, kind of a shrimpy fella, ain't he?" One of the Marines standing nearby quipped. I looked and saw it was Cowboy Hat who'd spoken. I recognized his voice as Black Sheep One. I gave him a glare that should've made him clam up but he just chuckled, shook his head and walked inside another tent. Sure, I'm only 5' 2", but why rub it in?**

T. J. put me down. I was a bit unsteady on my feet but we made it into the main tent. T.J. showed me a place where I could sit down on a cot in the corner and went off to get coffee. He came back a few minutes later a Major close on his heels and carrying a steaming cup. T.J. handed me the cup and then Maj. Boyington waved him out.

I wasn't particularly fond of coffee but I was freezing , so I forced myself to drink it. I looked up at the man they called Pappy. He didn't look exactly glad to see me. From what little I'd seen on television, I'd say this was his tent. "You're Major Greg Boyington, aren't you?" Duh, dumb question.

He looked a bit surprised but only for a moment. "That's right. And you are-?" Great. There. He said it. He just confirmed it. My mouth took awhile to respond to my brain's commands to reply. How was I going to get back to my own time? I mean I didn't have anything against the guys (besides the fact that, in my opinion, they drink and swear too much) but let's just say it was a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live here.

"Hope Burdette." I managed to say.

He raised an eyebrow. "Hope?"

"Yes, sir." I removed my flight cap and my bangs popped back out again. I brushed them to the side in their usual place.

Maj. Boyington groaned and began rubbing his brow. "Not again." At least, I'm pretty sure that's what he mumbled. He sighed and looked at me again. "Did you happen to touch a gold watch type thing?"

That's when I remembered something. I'd read where another writer on fanfic had accidentally gone back in time with Boyington after helping him get back to his own time. Maybe that's what he was talking about?

I shook my head no. "No. I was on my way to Georgia to visit a friend. I lost contact with the airport, then my plane was surrounded by a bunch of fog. But it was kinda reddish. And then my instrument panel konked out and by the time I got out of the fog I was being hounded by two Zeros. Oh yeah, and before the fog showed up, it felt like my plane was speeding up but my instrument panel didn't show anything wrong. And the reason I'm wearing an Air Corps uniform is 'cause me and my friend were gonna go to a costume party. I had a dress uniform too but it was in my bag in my plane. By the way, what should I call _you_? You can call me Yope if ya want. Or Hope. I don't care. Just don't call me Precious, that's my first name but I'm not too crazy about it. " I was babbling and I knew it. I tend babble when I'm excited or nervous. And the way the Major was looking slightly annoyed wasn't helping me any. Awk-ward.

He stared for a moment like I was insane or something. "Okay, Hope. You can call me either Major or Pappy, makes no difference to me." Boyington placed his hands on his hips and chewed his lip. "What year are _you_ from?"

"2012, sir."

"The last one, Morgan her name was, was standing near me when I touched a gold thing that resembled a pocket watch and that's how she got here." He explained. "I think she called it an Omni."

I nodded. "I know. She wrote about it and I read her story. That was really somethin'. I write fan fiction too. You see, fan fiction is-" I started to explain.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. She explained it to me." Major Boyington ran a hand through his hair. "But if you didn't touch the gold thing, the Omni,…I don't know how to get you back. I don't have it and I don't know who does."

Oh, swell. Why couldn't it be something simple like going through a painting (1) or a door or…Wait a minute! That fog! Maybe if I could find it again it could somehow get me back! Yeah that was it!

"Major Boyington, you know that red fog I told you about? When I came out of that, I was here so maybe if I could find it again somehow it could take me back." I looked up at him hopefully.

He shook his head doubtfully. "Nothing like that has ever been spotted around here. You might find it and you might not. I think your best bet would be for me to try to locate that Omni again. When Morgan was here, it had somehow ended up back in the States." The Major grabbed a chair and sat across from me. "But until we figure it out, you're going to need a cover story. And move you to some new quarters."

I nodded and waited for him to continue. He thought for a little while and then a spark appeared in his piercing blues eyes. He snapped his fingers and pointed at me. I raised an eyebrow. "I've got it! Let's see your rank is Second Lieutenant, right?"

I hesitated. "Well, not technically, you see I'm not even in the military and I-"

He went on as if I hadn't said anything. "And you're in the Air Corps, right?"

"No, I-" Geese, he sure was getting into this.

"Well, since you're all decked out in your Air Corps uniform anyway, here, how bout this. You're a special courier carrying, oh I don't know, plans for a new kind of plane. Yeah! We'll have to get you some phony papers, but that shouldn't be too much of a problem. And if Colonel Laird tries to check up on your story, it'll be so top secret and hush-hush that everybody'll say they never even heard of you." He leaned back in his chair looking very pleased with himself. "If any of my boys ask, you told me all about your assignment but it's top secret, got it? They might think I've gone crackers if I told them you were from the future."

_* Author's Note: My little sister, our best friend and myself came up with this thing of saying "Oh my geese!" instead of "Oh my gosh!", because "gosh" means the same thing as saying the original version "Oh my G-" (I'm not gonna finish that, not even typing) which is taking God's name in vain. Did that make sense?_

_** At sixteen, I'm 5' tall and as little as I grow I'll probably be about 5' 2" - 5' 5" at age 19. _

(1) '_going through a painting' idea from the 1960's TV series "The Wild, Wild West"._


	3. Easy As Pie

**Chapter 3 Easy as Pie…**

_(This chapter contains minor reference to liquor.)_

So when Pappy had me checked into the hospital, I became Air Corps officer Second Lieutenant Burdette of a special branch that was very top secret. Then he hinted to one of the nurses that I was with the OSS on a special assignment. My, my, my, I never heard a rumor spread so fast in my life. I mean I know some people gossip way too much but gee whiz!

A nurse helped me find some khakis about my size and let me borrow one of her shirts until I could get hold of another uniform. If I was in the Air Corps _and_ the OSS now, I had to stick to the rules and I needed my uniform, now didn't I? The nurse's name I found out was Olivia. She was really nice and we found out we had a lot in common. She was from Tennessee whereas I was from Indiana, but we both enjoyed country music even though Tommy Dorsey was extremely popular around the base right now. We were also the same rank, though I didn't really count that seeing as how I wasn't really a lieutenant. I found out she also loves to write and she shared some of her stories with me after I'd found a room that evening. We were nearly the same age too; Olivia at 20 and myself at 19. Ha, wish I'd been able to get a room with her.

I'd be staying with the new secretary to Colonel Laird in her quarters until I was to be 'shipped out'. I usually get along pretty well with most everybody but this woman was too much! She was constantly looking down her nose at me and lifting the corner of her lip with a look of distaste; and she had that strict schoolmarm look about her. Sheesh. What a grouch. I was guessing she must be about 25 or so. And she was oh so prim and proper. Not that there was anything wrong with that but it's like she expected me to bow down at her feet or something. I was gonna have a long talk with Pappy about getting another room in the morning when he came back. I'd go mad if I stayed with this…this…

"Lieutenant?" Lieutenant Rhida Herringbone interrupted my thoughts.

I turned around to face her and smiled sweetly. "Yes, Lieutenant Herringbone?" I somehow managed to keep from calling her schoolmarm.

"Your assignment…Will you be-?"

I interrupted her and took on a military air. "Lieutenant Herringbone, my assignment is top secret and I am not in the position to discuss it with anyone, but my superior. And that does NOT include Colonel Laird. This has nothing to do with the Marines. It is strictly Air Corps related and top priority." I explained. Geese, I didn't know I could sound so professional!

She pursed her lips and whirled around, leaving the room. I snickered and closed the door behind her. There was a bed in the room and a spare cot. I took the cot. No point in _making_ enemies, even if I wasn't planning on sticking around. I fluffed up the pillow and flopped down on the cot, falling into a deep sleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow.

When I opened my eyes the next morning, the sun was already high in the sky and Schoolmarm Herringbone was nowhere in sight. Boy, her bed could pass for any surprise inspection any time as neat as it was made up. Neat as a pin and not a single wrinkle anywhere. I looked around her room for a clock. Surely she had one. She was probably a very punctual person. Ah, there it was. 10 a.m.! How could I have slept this long! I was supposed to meet Pappy at the airfield at 9 a.m.!

I jumped off of the cot and grabbed a brush from Herringbone's dresser. I let out a low whistle. Silver plated backing. Wonder where she got something like this. I guess she wouldn't mind me using it just once. I brushed over my hair and grabbed my cap that went with my dress uniform. Good thing I'd decided to keep the cap inside my leather jacket.

I looked down at my attire. The khaki slacks and short-sleeved white shirt were both wrinkled from sleeping in them. Hopefully, Pappy would be able to find a new Air Corps uniform for me soon.

Last night after arriving at the hospital, I'd been checked out and given a clean bill of health. So I was free to roam the base. I'd missed breakfast and my stomach was grumbling when I reached the airfield. Maj. Boyington was leaning against a wall talking to T.J. when I walked up to them. " 'Morning, Major," I nodded and gave him a nervous smile then nodded to T.J., " 'Morning, T.J.." I turned back to Major Boyington. "I'm really sorry I kept you waiting for an hour. I slept in and-"

He held up a hand to silence me. "It's fine. You needed the sleep and we had some…eh…business to transact with some of the bombers over there." He looked over his shoulder and gestured to several men standing near a B-17. Uh-huh. Business. Riiiight. Probably wheeling and dealing like I'd seen them do on TV a couple of times.

T.J. spoke up and motioned for me to follow. "If you'll just follow me, Lieutenant." I looked up at Pappy and he nodded and followed T.J.. We went inside one of the hangars and where we saw Gutterman at a row of lockers. He waved us over.

When we reached him, he gave a sly smile and produced a key out of his shirt pocket. He inserted the key into the lock and it clicked open, and Gutterman let the door swing open. Inside was a Second Lieutenant's Air Corps dress uniform that looked about my size. I must've been gaping at it because Gutterman said, "Well, go ahead. Get it out. It ain't gonna bite you."

"It's awesome! It's even better than the one I had in my bag!" I blurted out after getting it out of the locker.

Gutterman closed the locker and started to put the key in his pocket. Pappy raised an eyebrow at him. "Gutterman…" Gutterman scowled and set the key on top of the locker. Pappy nodded and put his hands on his hips. "If we plan on dealing with those flyers in the future we need to be on good terms with 'em."

"Do you like it?" T. J. asked me, grinning.

"You'd better like it. It cost us two cases of Scotch." Pappy said.

"Where-? How-?" I couldn't get my words to come out right.

"That business I told you about. It just happened that a second lieutenant, just about your size, that was with that group was transferred back to the States and left his dress uniform behind. His pals over there decided to throw it in the deal in exchange for two cases of good Scotch." Maj. Boyington explained.

"Thanks so much, Pappy!" I lost myself for a minute and gave a great, big hug. And then realizing what I was doing pulled back and blushed. "I'm sorry, sir. I just sorta got a little excited." Gutterman was chuckling and T.J. looked like he was trying to hold back a guffaw. Pappy just stood glaring at them with his arms crossed. "Well, I'll just head over to the schoolm- I mean Ms. Herringbone's room and change into this if it's alright."

"Go right ahead. We'll wait for you here." Pappy waved me on and I dashed out of the hangar and headed back toward the room I was sharing.

I knocked before entering and hearing no response from inside, I went inside. Good, she's not here. I locked the door and quickly changed into my new uniform. It was just a teeny bit big but that was okay, at least I wouldn't have to wear a nurse's uniform. After tying the shoestrings on my brown dress shoes, I walked over to the mirror to brush over my hair real quick before leaving. Hmm, well, the silver plated brush was gone. 'Schoolmarm' must've come back for it or something. Oh well. Instead of a brush I neatened up my hair as best I could with my fingers and stuck my cap back on.

Dashing down the empty hallway, I was just reaching for the door handle to the door that led out of the building when it opened by itself. Well, not by itself. Schoolmarm Herringbone opened it from the other side. I nodded a hello. "Good morning, Lieutenant Herringbone. If you'll excuse me, I'm in a bit of a hurry."

She gave me that scowl again. "Not at all." She moved to the side, and I brushed past her and outside.

I stopped at the bottom of the stairs out side and watched the door close. I pushed my cap back and scratched my head. What was with her? You be as polite as can be and she still scowls at you. Maybe she was mad because she had to share her room. Well, if that was the case, she wouldn't have to very long. I still planned on finding a new room. I'd sleep in a tent if I had too! Heck, I'm used to camping out. As a matter of fact, I enjoyed it. I don't like hunting though. It makes me sick. But I do enjoy a little target practice now and then at the gun range*.

I jogged over to the airfield where Pappy, T.J., and Gutterman were still waiting patiently. As warm as it was, I'd decided to take off the jacket that went with my uniform and carry it instead. Pappy waved Gutterman and T. J. off, saying he had something to discuss with 'Lt. Burdette'. He took me aside and provided me with proper identification papers. Forged, of course. I hadn't seen too many of these things, but I gotta give whoever did them credit. Pretty spiffy. Pappy then dug into his pocket and gave me a set of dog tags. Woo-wee! What an engraving job! I didn't ask how he'd done it, but leave it to Pappy to get it done.

"Now if Colonel Laird or General Moore question you about anything, like I said before, you're on a top secret assignment. If Laird asks, don't explain your mission entirely. If the General asks when he comes back to the base today and if it's absolutely necessary, tell him you're delivering the plans for a new type of plane. A fighter. You got that?" Major Boyington briefed me after I'd slipped the dog tags around my neck.

I nodded, soaking in every detail. "Yes, sir."

"I'll get a briefcase somewhere. The kind with a lock on it and we'll stick some phony blueprints in it." He looked around and scratched his head. "We'll have to find somebody to draw them up though."

"I could do it!" I spoke up. "I draw a lot and back in my time I sell commissioned portraits. Whenever I'm not doing commissions, I draw planes and their plans. Mostly the fighters from…well…your time." I explained.

Pappy looked a bit surprised then nodded, pleased. "Good. You can get started on them while you're at our base. We don't want anybody sticking their noses into this."

"Easy as pie, Major." I smiled as we headed toward the planes on the field.

_* Author's Note: In reality, I have never handled a gun (except a cap gun. LOL!) but I added this to my character in the story for reasons you will see later in the story._


	4. Or Not

**Chapter 4 …Or Not**

Major Boyington had seen me fly the day before (even though I had been shot down) and after further convincing him by showing him my Private Pilot's license - with multi-engine and instrument ratings - he somehow managed to get a plane for me and let me fly on my own to Vella la Cava with him, T. J., and Gutterman. Before I'd been transported back in time and my world had turned upside down, as a pilot I was required to carry my pilot's license and my medical certificate from the FAA doctor on my person, but Pappy took them because if anyone found them on me…well, I'd have a lot of explaining to do what with the date and everything on the documents.

It didn't take long before we reached the Black Sheep Squadron's base on Vella la Cava. We all landed with no difficulties and were met by the rest of the squadron. Well, everyone except Larry Casey. Gutterman and T. J. said bye and went off somewhere else to do go do their own thing. Pappy led the way to the radio hut and there we found Casey signing off of the radio.

"What's the word, Casey?" Pappy asked him, leaning against the radio set.

Casey put down the headphones and picked up a small notepad where he had written down a message. "It's from General Moore. He's coming out to see you sometime around 2 or 3. Says here he has something of great importance he wants to discuss with you." He looked up at Major Boyington.

"Any idea what about?"

Casey shook his head and set the pad down. "Nope. Just says something important." Then seeing me standing behind Pappy, Casey nodded a hello.

"Well, thanks, Case. Me and the Lieutenant have confidential business so I want you to make sure nobody bothers us."

"Sure thing, Pappy." Casey said and walked out of the shack.

Pappy then led me over to a table where there were some large sheets of paper and several pencils. "You can start working on those plans here while I try to find out where that Omni or whatever it's called is." I nodded, grabbed a chair and sat down, setting to work on the phony plans.

I finished the drawings of the outside of the plane sometime around 2 o'clock. I had no idea if something like this could fly, but it didn't really matter because the plans weren't going to be delivered anyway. I'd drawn the body of a P-51 Mustang and given it the wings and tail of an F-86E Sabre. The F-86E Sabre wouldn't be made until 1947 after the war. I decided to keep the P-51's engine instead of replacing it with the Sabre's.

I was just starting on the plans for the inside of the plane when I heard the roar of an aircraft engine. I got up from the table and looked outside of the shack. On the landing strip, I saw Maj. Boyington helping a man down from the cockpit of the plane. Even from this distance I knew it had to be General Moore. Uh-oh. Looked like they were heading this way. I looked around and then seeing the plans I was working still lying out in the open on the table. I quickly grabbed them and rolled them up. I looked around the room for a hiding place for them. Ah ha! There in the wastebasket. No one would ever think of looking for plans there. I shoved the papers in and piled the other crumbled up papers over them.

Outside, I could hear Pappy's and General Moore's voices becoming louder. I grabbed Casey's notepad and pencil he had set down and sat back down at the table where I had been working. I was just writing, 'Dear Mom,' when the General and Pappy walked in. I pretended to be surprised and snapped to attention delivering the General a salute.

He returned the salute. "At ease, Lieutenant."

General Moore turned back to Boyington. "Now, Greg, _that_ is a salute. Can't you teach your men something like that?"

Pappy shrugged. "I guess they're too busy fighting the war to practice their salutes, General." He quipped.

The General chuckled and slapped Pappy on the back. Whoa. I wonder how he got to be a general. I always pictured generals to be all military regulations and everything. This guy was about the same as Pappy.

Pappy raised an eyebrow questioningly at me and I motioned slightly with my eyes to the wastebasket. He gave a small, almost imperceptible nod.

"General, this is Lieutenant Burdette. Lieutenant, this General Moore." Pappy made introductions. "The lieutenant's Corsair was shot down yesterday and we picked her up."

General Moore nodded. "Ah. And what's a young lady like you doing flying a fighter plane out here in the Pacific?"

I shifted uncomfortably and looked to Pappy for help. "Well, sir, it…uh…I…"

"Lieutenant Burdette is on a top priority mission, sir." Pappy intervened. He leaned over and whispered something in the General's ear.

Moore's eyes grew wide and he looked at Pappy. "Is that true?"

Pappy nodded. "Mm-hm. Show him your papers, Lieutenant." He gestured for the papers. I brought them out of my shirt pocket and handed them to him. Pappy took them and then handed them to General Moore. I waited, tense and holding my breath. General Moore nodded approvingly and handed them back to me.

"Thank you, sir." I said as I took them back.

"Now if you don't mind excusing us, Lieutenant. The Major and I have an important military matter to discuss." General Moore said.

"Yes, sir." I saluted him again before leaving the shack.

I had just come out into the open when someone grabbed my arm and pulled me around to the side of the building. My surprised scream was muffle by a hand clamped over my mouth. My eyes burned holes into T. J. who put a finger to his lips motioning for me to be quiet. He removed his hand. Gutterman was at the side of the building kneeling under a window.

"Just who do-" I said loudly. He looked around nervously and motioned again for me to be quiet. "Just who do you think you are?" I whispered angrily.

"You wanna find out what General Moore came to talk about, don't you? Come on, you can stay and listen with us until the General leaves." T. J. insisted.

Well…I did have to admit I was a bit curious…and what could the harm be? It's not like I was gonna tell the world what was being discussed in there or anything. I followed him and knelt down near the window where we could hear a muffled conversation coming from inside.

"Greg, we have information that a spy is somewhere either here on Vella la Cava or Espritos." The General's muffled voice reached us through the screened window. I looked at T. J. - who sat nearest me against the hut - and raised my eyebrows in interest.

"There haven't been any strangers around here, sir." Pappy said.

"What about this new Lieutenant? How much do you know about her?" My eyes nearly popped out and I must've looked like I was about to protest because T. J. quickly shushed me again.

"Sir, Lieutenant Burdette has orders and identification. She's a special courier."

"I know all that but orders _can_ be forged." Oh, too true, General. You don't know how close that remark is. "And she looks like she may be from Japanese ancestry." Oh, swell. Here we go again. I don't think I look at all Japanese but other kids had asked me when I was a kid if I was Japanese. I do have a certain Asian look about me though because my mother is Filipino.

"I don't know anything about that, General, but I'm sure it couldn't be Burdette."

"You never know, Boyington. And our intelligence reports confirm that the spy is a female." The sound of a chair scraping and then the heavy sigh of the General as he sat down reached our ears.

Footsteps approached the radio hut and I peek around the corner to see Casey going inside. Before we could stop him, he was already inside carrying a black trash bag. We hurried back to the window to listen in on them. Oh no. Casey was wanting to empty the wastebasket. We could hear Pappy protesting and Casey insisting. Finally we heard the General speak up.

"Oh let him take it out, Greg. What's the matter with you anyway? I have to order my boys at the office to clean the office and here you have your men volunteering and you tell him not to. I don't get you."

Even through the window we could here Pappy let out a heavy sigh. "Alright, Larry. Take it out."

We saw Casey leave and we were settling down to listen again when Boyle came around the corner of the back of the building. "Hey, what are you guys-" He was cut off when Gutterman pulled him down on the ground. We all became very quiet. The voices inside the hut had stopped. Gutterman pushed Boyle away and rushed away from the window. T.J. grabbed my hand and we quickly followed.

I didn't know my way around Vella la Cava very well, except for bits and pieces I'd seen on television, so I let T. J. lead the way. Gutterman and Boyle had turned a corner somewhere along the way so we were alone. I hadn't heard anyone following us but it was kind of fun anyway. T. J. opened the door to the officer's club - "The Sheep Pen", as it was called.

The club was empty, which was very unusual, and T. J. led the way to the bar where we sat down to catch our breath. "Nobody was chasing us, you know that, don't you?" I said with a small smile.

T. J. grinned. "I know. Want a drink? We've got Scotch, we've got-"

"Just water, thanks. I don't drink."

T. J. walked behind the bar, grabbed a glass from under the counter and filled it with water. He got a glass for himself and did the same. "A toast to your mission, Lieutenant." He said holding his glass of water in the air.

_Too true, Lieutenant Wiley. Little do you know, _I thought thinking of my mission. My mission to get home. I clinked my glass against his and took a long swallow of water.

A few minutes after we heard the General's plane take off, the door to the officer's club opened and Major Boyington appeared in the door. "Lieutenant Burdette. I'd like to speak with you…" He gave a meaningful glance at T. J. "…in private."

T. J. gave a little bow and smiled at me. "A pleasure speaking with you, Lieutenant."

"And you." And with that, T. J. left me alone with Pappy.

Pappy let out a heavy sigh and ran a hand through his hair before sitting down at the bar. "You hear?"

"Yeah." I replied with dread. All that work on those plans into the trash bin.

"Can you draw up a new set of plans before you head back?"

"I don't know. I could try but I may have to stay over or come back again in the morning."

"Then you'll stay over. You can bunk in the radio room. It's got a lock on the door. I'll put a cot in there and you can finish up tonight."

"Thanks."

"I haven't found anything on the Omni yet but I'll try to contact the last place I heard it was and work from there." Pappy said.

I gave him a sheepish smile. "I guess I was wrong about 'easy as pie', wasn't I?"


	5. Lucky Dog!

Chapter 5 Lucky Dog!

It had to be well past midnight when I finally finished a new set of phony plans. I hadn t really wanted to go through mixing up whole new plane again so I just went ahead and did the real thing for an F-18 Hornet. I d been fascinated by them when the Blue Angels came to town on several occasions. My big sister groaned when she heard the roaring engines of the sleek jets but I got all giddy every time I did. I was familiar with the plans because I had drawn them up before several times. Once for our dentist who is also a pilot. He s got this really awesome mural on one wall of his office with all of the planes he s flown and his own plane painted on there too.

I yawned as I stretched and put my pencil away. I opened the briefcase that Pappy had given me and put the plans away inside. I locked the case and stuck the key in my shirt pocket. Finally I switched out the light bulb that hung from the ceiling and flopped down on the cot. It wasn t the most comfortable place I d ever slept but it was good enough. I fell asleep dreaming of red fog, spies, and mixed up planes.

The next morning, Pappy came to the radio hut and knocked on the door. I had been up for some time, so I got up from seat at the small table and unlocked the door. Mornin , Pappy. I said, cheerfully. Or as cheerfully as I could seeing as how I didn t exactly want to be in a war zone in the Pacific in World War II.

Pappy returned my morning greeting and pulled a chair over to the radio set. I peered over his shoulder while he began sending messages to a few people he knew, trying to locate the Omni thingy. When he was done he leaned back into the chair and sighed heavily. No luck? I asked.

He shook his head. No luck.

I sat down on the cot I had slept on and chewed my bottom lip. It s sort of a habit of mine when I m thinking. Where do you think it might be? I asked. I d only been here about two days but it seemed like eternity. I was missing my friends at the airport and my dog. I wondered what she was doing right now. Dixie s my Golden Retriever. She misses me when I m gone but doesn t have severe separation anxiety or anything, for which I m glad. I was beginning to think I had separation anxiety though. What if I couldn t make my way back home? What if I was stuck back in time? What if somebody found out I m not really in the Air Corps or the OSS for that matter? I could feel a slight panic building up inside me as those thoughts whirled around in my head.

I really have no clue, Hope. Pappy said, slowly. But I will keep trying to find it. In the meantime, you ll just have to make the best of your time here and pray we find some way to get you back soon. He looked at me with those honest blue eyes and suddenly, I felt a lot calmer.

I took a deep breath and let it back out slowly, then looked back at Pappy and nodded. Okay. I answered, quietly.

He stood and came over to stand by where I sat. I looked up at him and he smiled and patted my shoulder. Don t worry. He squeezed my shoulder and I gave him a small smile. Yeah, what was I worrying about anyway? Even if I had traveled back in time, God still had his hedge around me and his angels were always around to protect me. And besides, no matter how grim a situation ever seems, God always makes a way.

I stood and found myself hugging Pappy. I missed my dad too. I pulled back and wiped at my eyes; tears had threatened to spill over. Thanks, Pappy. I needed that.

No problem. Pappy smiled and put his arm around my shoulder. Now what say we go grab some grub?

I nodded and we left the radio hut.

After breakfast and a lot of protesting from me, Pappy sent me back to the main base. Well if I m gonna be here for a prolonged period of time, I am not, I repeat NOT, going to stay with that-that-

Schoolmarm? T. J. teased.

Yeah, that. I looked up at Pappy; my brown eyes begging, pleading with him.

Pappy gave me a long lecture about saying as little as possible about my mission and all, but finally caved in. Back at the main base, I happily walked to where Olivia had her room and knocked. Olivia opened her door, expecting me and showed me my bed. I laid my locked briefcase on the bed and sat down. We talked for awhile and then Olivia had to take her shift. We said goodbye and closed the door behind her. Leaning against the closed door, I sighed. What was I going to do with myself all day? I could go out and explore the base but then Pappy might find out where the Omni is. I thought about it for awhile and finally decided to leave a note on my bed where I might be reached. If Pappy did find out where the Omni was he d have to fly over. It s not like he could radio to me, what with it supposed to be a secret.

I wrote the note and left my quarters. The weather here on Vella la Cava reminded me a lot of the Philippines. There was a touch of humidity in the air as I walked around the base. When I finally stopped walking, I found that I had reached the airstrip. For a few hours I watched the planes being loaded, unloaded, taking off, and landing. The discovery of flight always amazes me. Imagine. There was once a time in history when people would scoff at the idea or even looked at you as if you were going insane, if you so much as mentioned the possibility of man flying.

Finally, I decided that maybe I d better head on back to our room. It was nearing 2:00 p.m. from the looks of the sun. I was deep in thought when the sound of a dog barking broke into my thoughts. Ha, now I was even imagining Dixie s barking. But the barking continued. I stopped in my tracks. Wait a minute. Since when have they been keeping dogs on Vella la Cava? I don t remember anything like that when I watched TV. Except maybe Pappy s bull terrier. I listened more and finally pinpointed the direction of where the barking was coming from. My steps quickened as I came around a corner of one of the buildings. The barking, and now some yelling, was coming from inside Col. Laird s office. I hesitated for a moment and then pushed open the door.

Get that animal out of here! A man s screeching voice yelled from inside Col. Laird s office. Stay away! Stay way from me!

Lt. Herringbone was standing outside the Colonel s door wringing her hands. She looked like she wasn t sure if she go in or not. She looked desperate. She jumped when I spoke. What s going on in there? I asked.

Her green eyes were startled but then she shook her head. I don t know. A corporal brought in a dog so the Colonel would keep an eye on him and left. That was this morning. A few minutes ago the dog just started barking.

I reached for the doorknob. Wait! What are you doing? Lt. Herringbone asked me. I looked at her, puzzled. I m going to get the dog. I stated plainly.

But-but you can t go in there.

Why not?

Because well, because the dog sounds mean and I don t want you to get hurt, so there! I was surprised at this outburst from her. I would never have expected her to be concerned. Not the way she had treated me before.

I ll be fine, Rhida, I assured her, surprising myself by using her first name, I have experience with dogs. I ve got one of my own back home. Then a thought came to me. Maybe Lt. Herringbone was one of those people who was afraid of dogs. Particularly big dogs. Come on. You can make sure nobody else comes in and I ll go get the dog. She nodded and went to the front door.

I opened the door to the inner office and saw a sight which almost made me burst out laughing. On top of his desk, neatly stacked papers now scattered all over the floor, knelt Colonel Laird yelling at a young German Shepherd. Col. Laird looked at me, red-faced, and yelled, Get that dog OUT of here!

The German Shepherd turned to me, his tongue lolling out and tail making low, wide sweeps. I knelt down and whistled to him. Here, boy. Hey, there s a sweet dog. I ignored Col. Laird s protest about the sweet dog bit.

The Shepherd trotted over to me and I braced myself for what I knew was coming next. He planted both of his massive paws onto my shoulders and nearly sent me toppling over. Luckily, I had been prepared for the action and was used to Dixie doing the same thing once in a while. I gently took his paws off of my shoulders and he soon had all four paws back on the ground. I grabbed his black leather collar. He was still waging his tail every time he barked and Col. Laird yelled. I do believe that dog enjoyed that. I had to bite back a smile as the Colonel crawled off the top of his desk and quickly recovered himself.

He glared at the dog, who just kept smiling back at him. Sit, boy. The dog s rump hit the ground. He turned his head and looked at me expectantly. I shrugged. Sorry, no treat, fella.

Treat?! TREAT! That dog doesn t need any treats! He needs to be put out of MY misery! Col. Laird shouted. I couldn t help myself when he said that. I scowled at him. Get that dog out of my sight, Lieutenant.

Where, sir?

I don t CARE where! Just get him out! He waved a pointed finger and the dog snarled. I put both hands on his collar before he could lunge at Colonel Laird s arm. Get him out, GET HIM OUT! The Colonel s voice rose an octave.

I looked over my shoulder and saw Lt. Herringbone peering in the office, her eyes wide. I wanted to ask the Colonel, what bout the dog s owner? but I figured this wasn t the best time. I clicked my tongue to the dog and he willingly followed me to the outer office, after another threatening growl at Colonel Laird. Lt. Herringbone quickly backed away from the dog as we came out of the office.

Col. Laird slammed his door shut and the dog perked his ears up. I could just hear him thinking, Woah, what was that all about? . The German Shepherd was practically a pup and obviously still in training. He had taken the Colonel s yells as invitations to play and had responded in his way of playing.

The dog was a lot more calmer now without Col. Laird s yelling exciting him. I petted him and smiled at Lt. Herringbone. He s friendly. I saw a look of doubt cross her face. He was just excited in there is all. Come on. Pet him. I ll hold his collar. She shook her head quickly, but then slowly walked toward us. The dog smacked his lips, licking the drool away from his mouth, and shifted his weight and thumped his tail as he saw Lt. Herringbone coming closer. Lt. Herringbone stopped.

It s alright. He s just happy.

Eventually, Lt. Herringbone was close enough to pet him and her hand slowly came forward. Very quickly, her hand passed over his head and she pet him. The dog thumped his tail harder. Lt. Herringbone beamed at her success. I smiled too. I had done this before with a boy who was afraid of dogs. Especially big dogs. Eventually he had come close enough to Dixie to give her a quick pat on the head and then he had rushed backwards into his grandma who was watching. But he was smiling.

An hour later, Lt. Herringbone and I had the dog on his back and we were both rubbing his stomach, much to his enthusiasm. I hadn t seen this side of the lieutenant since my arrival. I asked Lt. Herringbone whether she knew who dog s owner was or not. She shook her head no. The corporal had come in with the dog that morning and left without it. That was all she knew. She did mention that he looked a bit sad to be leaving without the dog though.

Finally it was time for me to leave. I had no idea where to take the dog and I was sure animals weren t allowed in the nurses quarters. But then again, Col. Laird had said he didn t care where I took the dog. We bid farewell to Lt. Herringbone and I led the dog out by his collar toward the nurses quarters. There was nobody in the halls when we arrived so we made it to the room where I was staying without being seen.

Once inside, I closed the door and turned to back to the dog to see him sitting on my bed. My mouth dropped open and he thumped his tail even harder. There were brown paw prints of the dust we had tracked in all over my white sheet. I called to him and reluctantly he jumped down. I was beating the dust off my bed when I heard the door open. I thought I d locked that. I froze and turned my head to see who had come inside. Phew! It was Olivia. She looked at the dog then to me, from me and back to the dog.

Slowly she shut the door. Where d you get him? She asked nodding at the dog who, unbeknownst to me, had fallen asleep on Olivia s bed.

Colonel Laird wanted him out of his office. Then I began relating the tale of what had happened in the office. Olivia laughed at the part where Colonel Laird was crawling on top of his desk screeching. I did my best impression of his yelling and we both broke down into a fit of giggles. Our laughter had awoken the dog and he hopped down and began showering us with sloppy kisses. Every time we tried to push him away, he tried even harder to lick some more.

Olivia glanced at the wall clock. Hey, it s time for supper! My stomach growled. I had forgotten all about eating and had missed lunch. We left the dog in our room and went off to eat. After supper and back in our room, we were both awake long after lights out whispering. I think the dog must ve been wanting to get to sleep because after a while of our whispering, he groaned like my own dog does and covered his muzzle with his paw. Finally, we went to sleep. 


	6. Moondoggie

**Chapter 6 Moondoggie**

This time I was awoke to find Olivia still asleep in her bed next to mine. Not wanting to wake her and knowing she needed the sleep for when she took over her shift, I quickly and quietly dressed and slipped on my shoes. The German Shepherd started to give me a pitiful whine as my hand touched the doorknob. I looked over my shoulder at him. "Shhh…." I put my finger to my lips. He whined louder and Olivia shifted in her sleep. I looked around the room and finally spotted what I needed. I fashioned a short leash with a belt that was lying rolled up on the dresser.

We left the nurses' quarters and I led him outside into the fresh air. I love mornings. The base was already bustling as I headed over to Col. Laird's office. Maybe now I could ask him about the dog. Surely he had to belong to somebody! And we couldn't keep him in the nurses' quarters forever. I hesitated at the door and looked down at Major, who was wagging his tail and panting happily. I couldn't leave him out here…but then again…it probably wouldn't be a very good idea to take him inside. Aw, what the heck. I opened the door and my furry friend shot in ahead of me, nearly knocking me out of the way. Well…it wasn't _supposed_ to happen exactly that way. I sighed and followed after him.

Lt. Herringbone sat at her desk smiling at the dog. He had positioned himself as close as possible to her cramming himself in between the desk and the lieutenant's legs. He was happily panting in her face and his tail was making sweeping wags back and forth under the desk.

I came over and took hold of his collar, knowing he hadn't the foggiest notion of the word 'come'. Oh sure, he would respond when he felt like it but I didn't think this time counted. "Mornin', Lieutenant." I nodded to Lt. Herringbone.

"Good morning." She answered still looking at Cody.

"Is the colonel in?" I asked.

"Huh? Oh yeah, sure. Just a minute I'll see if he's busy." She got up form her seat and went over to Col. Laird's inner office door. She rapped lightly with her knuckles on the frosted glass. "Col. Laird, sir?"

"Yes, what is it?" A muffled voice came from the other side of the door.

"Lieutenant Burdette to see you, sir."

There was a slight pause. "Ohhhh! Lieutenant _Burdette_! Yes, of course. Send her right in."

I thanked Lt. Herringbone and made my way into the inner office. The Shepherd decided he wanted to stay with Herringbone and it was probably for the best. I don't think Col. Laird was one much for dogs. At least not this particular one anyway.

I found Col. Laird sitting behind his desk with some papers set out in front him, a pen poised just above the paper. I must've interrupted him. The papers were upside down. He looked up in a very phony startled reaction. Hehe! He reminded me of a new actor who was overdoing his role.

"Why, Lt. Burdette! How wonderful to see you!" I almost grimaced at his false gushiness.

"Yes, sir."

He shoved his papers to the side. "I'm sorry I haven't welcomed you to our base upon your arrival. I understand your plane crashed."

Oh my beautiful new plane! Sunk into the briny deep! "Yes, sir. A Japanese Zero sort of zeroed in on me." Even _I_ thought it was corny.

He frowned. "Yes, well…you say you're with the Air Force?"

Uh oh. I knew he'd start asking questions sooner or later but I had kinda hoped it'd be later. Sentences and words I was supposed to say flashed across my mind. "Yes, sir. I'm on special assignment."

"I see. And just what sort of an assignment is this?"

"Top secret…sir." I made it very clear.

He frowned again. "Yes, yes, so I've heard, but you see I really must know what goes on around my base. If I don't…well…there's just no telling how many people, spies even, would walk in and out of here everyday claiming that they're on a top secret mission that even I am not supposed to have knowledge of. You see, I just couldn't run this base."

I decided to give him, hopefully, a better act than what he had given me when I came in. I looked over both my shoulders and then walked over to the door and opened it a hair and peeked out. I walked back over to Col. Laird's desk and sat down in the chair across from him. I leaned forward and motioned for him to lean closer. He did. Then I whispered, "I'm working for the O.S.S.," I said it slowly so it would sink in, "and I'm delivering some _very_ important blueprints. It's top priority and extremely hush-hush." He nodded intently as I went on, his eyes wide. "Now that I've told you, sir, I need a solemn promise that word will not get out about this. If it does…well, let's just say it might throw the end of the war forward several more years." I looked into his eyes and hoped that I looked much more confident than I felt.

He must've fallen for it. "Oh yes, of course."

"Now not a word…"

"Oh no, no! Of course not. I wouldn't dream of it!"

I nodded approvingly. "Good. Colonel Laird, sir, the reason I came down here this morning is to ask you about the dog…"

"Dog?" He looked puzzled for a moment, then he remembered. "Oh yes…the corporal's dog…"

"Corporal, sir?"

He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Yes, a corporal came in yesterday morning on his way home. The problem was, they couldn't take both him and the dog on the flight back to the States so he was forced to leave the dog behind." He waved his hand in a helpless gesture. "I don't know what I'm going to do with a dog. Especially a wild animal like that." I wanted to correct him on the 'wild animal' part but thought better of it and listened further. "Corporal Haynes wanted me to see that the dog got a good home. The only reason he had come into possession of the animal was because the dog was couldn't get through his training at the facility."

"Sir, if I may?"

"Yes, Lieutenant?"

"Perhaps I could care for the dog while I'm here and maybe I could take him along when I leave Vella la Cava. If that might be possible, sir." I suggested.

Colonel Laird rubbed his chin thoughtfully, then after a moment, looked back up at me. "I'll see if that can be arranged, if it doesn't interfere with your mission that is."

"Oh no, sir! Not at all. I find him to be very companionable as well."

"Fine" - he gave a decisive nod - "You can keep the dog with you, but I don't want him causing any trouble on this base or interfering with your mission. And he's YOUR responsibility now."

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir." I saluted him and he returned it. I turned and left his office.

I thanked Rhida for keeping an eye on our four-legged friend and left the office with the dog. We wandered around the base for a while. I would have loved to take a spin in one of the planes they had on the base, but none of them could be spared. I must say, my new charge was behaving very well. Much better than I had expected. He had a reasonably good heel, much better than my own dog's as a matter of fact. He watched everything with great curiosity but for the most part minded his manners. Once or twice he startled at a jeep roaring past us. But other than that he was the perfect gentleman. I had assumed from I'd been told and what I'd seen yesterday, that the dog knew next to nothing from his training. I didn't know how his recall was but maybe I'd have a chance to try him out later.

As we walked, I wondered if Pappy had found anything on the Omni thingy yet. And also found myself thinking about what the General and Pappy had talked about yesterday. About the spy. A spy? From what I had seen, security was very tight. I was thinking about how I had gotten thrown back in time and how I'd get back, when we found ourselves down at the beach.

It was beautiful. And so peaceful. Being here you'd never know there was a war going on, except for the occasional plane flying over. The beach was empty, and outside of the drone of a plane or two leaving or coming into the base, the only sounds heard were the waves and the trees branches being swayed by the wind.

I sucked in a deep breath trying to get my mind off of my dilemma. I looked down at the German Shepherd who was watching the waves crash against one another. "Do you wanna run, boy?"

He looked up at me briefly and then looked back out at the sea.

"You oughta have a name now that I'm taking care of you. How 'bout…Duke."

The dog sat down and whined.

"No? Alright…what about Cody?"

He groaned and lay down with his head on his paws.

"Sheesh, fine. _I_ thought it was a good name. What do you think of 'Moondoggie'?" I asked.

He barked and sat up again.

"You like it then?"

He barked and tugged at the makeshift leash.

"Okay, fine. Go play," I told him while releasing him.

He immediately ran toward the surf and began splashing in it. I picked up a piece of driftwood and threw it a ways down the beach. Moondoggie, or whatever he was gonna end up being named, dashed after the stick. He didn't bring it back. Instead he went back into the water and began playing with it. Every time the surf came closer he would run away, and when it went back he chased after it.

He was having a blast and I was tempted join him in the water when a voice spoke from behind me.

"Nice dog."

I nearly jumped out of my skin as I turned to face who had spoken. "What's the big idea sneakin' up on me like that?!" I half shouted, half yelped. My heart was thumping madly as I glared at the stranger. If there was one thing I hate is someone sneaking up on me. Scares the dickens out of me.

He was a Major, tall - but not too tall, and he had a nice smile…Did I just say that? "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

Having somewhat gotten over being upset, I shrugged and accepted his apology. "No harm done." I turned my head to see what Moondoggie was doing.

"He yours?"

"Hm? Oh yeah, well I'm sort of taking care of him 'til he finds a home."

"Say, you're that courier that was shot down aren't you?"

"Yep, that's me," I said without much enthusiasm. Being shot down was NOT my cup of tea.

"I'm sure it must've been a horrific experience."

I shrugged and said nothing, still watching Moondoggie play. Even though this Major did have a nice smile and he was terribly polite, I found myself wishing he'd go away. I wanted to play with Moondoggie.

He spoke again. "Are you doing anything tonight?"

THAT caught me off guard. I looked at him and for a few seconds no words would come out of my mouth. "Eh…well, I uh…I don't think so."

"I wonder if you'd care to join me for dinner at the officer's club?"

"Uh…sure. Sure, thanks."

"Splendid! Then I'll see you this evening. How's 7 sound?"

"Fine," I answered dumbly.

"Good day, Lieutenant." He tipped his hat and turned on his heel, walking back up the beach.

Why did I say I wasn't doing anything? I was supposed to keep a low profile, for Pete's sake! And I don't even know who that guy is! What a dope. Me, I mean. I plopped down on the sand and put my head in my hands. "Think before you speak, Hope," I groaned aloud.


	7. Order are Orders

**Chapter 7 Orders Are Orders**

_A/N: To set my readers straight, I have never EVER been on a date and sure don't plan on it anytime soon. XD And...Oh my geese! It's been so long since I last updated! :O Glory be, I better sit myself down and start hitting that keyboard more, shouldn't I? ;) _

I received no word from Pappy that day and I was getting a bit anxious when I arrived back at Olivia's room an hour before dinner. And the date with the Major.

Olivia was already there getting ready to head out for dinner. When I told her where I was going, she was very happy.

"This is great!" She said smiling. We had both taken seats on our beds, facing each other. Moondoggie lay on the floor at our feet.

"It is?"

"Sure!" Then she went onto explain that she had a date for the evening with someone she'd been going steady with for some time, and she had been worried about me not finding someone to spend dinner with. Me being new around and all.

"What's this Major like?" She asked.

"Well…I really don't know," I admitted.

"You don't know?"

"Well, I was letting the dog run around on the beach and then out of nowhere the Major pops up behind me. Nearly scared the living daylights out of me. Anyway, he's-" I thought for moment. "Maybe about 20 or so. He's got dark brown hair, and his eyes are dark too."

"He sounds handsome," Olivia said grinning. "Do you know anything else about him?"

I shrugged and blushed. "Not really. I wasn't really thinking straight when he asked me."

Olivia let out a good-natured laugh. "I think I can understand that."

We helped each with our hair and talked while we got ready. Moondoggie watched us cocking his head every now and then, wondering what we were doing. Finally, we were ready and we left Olivia's room and walked down the hall. We came to the door and stepped outside of the nurses' quarters.

"I hope Moondoggie'll be alright by himself," I said my thoughts aloud.

"Moondoggie?"

"Oh I forgot to tell you! What do you think of Moondoggie as a name for our new roommate?"

Our dates picked us up a few minutes later in a jeep they had gotten from the motor pool. Turned out, the Major and Olivia's date Lt. Col. Murdock knew each other. Lt. Col. James Murdock was one of the base lawyers and the Major helped him in his office now and then.

We arrived at the officer's club a couple of minutes later and we all walked in together. "There's a table over there!" Olivia said, pointing. Several minutes later, we had all seated ourselves at the booth. After putting in our orders, we started chatting with one another, getting to know each other.

The Major who had escorted me was Robert Neill from Minnesota. He was fairly new to the base having only been there for about two months or so. He had been transferred from the States and he told me he mainly worked in the offices, helping with paperwork and organization.

After dinner, someone started up the jukebox in the corner. I hadn't noticed it when we came in. James stood and bowed to Olivia. "May I have this dance, milady?" He asked Olivia, smiling.

Olivia looked at me, eyes sparkling. "I'll see you later, alright?"

I nodded and smiled back. "Sure. We'll be right here."

Olivia got up from the booth and she and Lt. Col. Murdock began dancing.

"Do you dance?" Major Neill asked me.

"Oh no, not me, I'm afraid." I watched Olivia and her dance partner as they seemed to glide across the floor. "They dance very well."

Major Neill nodded. "They sure do. I'm one of those poor fellows who have two left feet," he said, good-humoredly.

We conversed late into the evening, sharing stories from back home; though I was careful not to reveal anything that might give away my true time period. Finally Olivia reminded me of the time and we bid our escorts a goodnight when they dropped us off at our quarters.

It was the afternoon of the next day when things started popping. I was out walking my new furry friend when I heard my name being called. "Lieutenant Burdette!"

Boy, it was hard getting used to being called 'lieutenant'. I turned to see Pappy walking towards me. Hm, he didn't look very pleased. Matter of fact, he looked downright disturbed. Moondoggie barked and I shushed him and waited for Pappy to catch up. "Hi, Pappy," I greeted him.

"Hope, we need to talk," he demanded quietly.

"Okay," I said, confused.

"Over here." He led the way behind one of the buildings.

"What is it?" I asked. Oh no! what if someone had found out I wasn't a courier! I started to open my mouth to ask but Pappy shook his head as if he had read my mind.

"No one's found out. It's something else."

"What?"

"You had dinner with someone last night, didn't you?"

"Yeah, sure." I was still confused. "Major Neill invited me to dinner and Olivia and Colonel Murdock were with us. Why?"

"You're supposed to be keeping a low profile!" Pappy hissed.

"I am. I didn't tell him anything!" I said, defensively.

"That's not the point."

"What is the point?"

Pappy sighed in frustration. Even I knew I was being difficult but gee whiz, I didn't tell the guy anything! "Look, just-" He stopped and ran a hand through his hair. "Until further notice, I don't want you to speak with anyone unless it's absolutely necessary. Same goes for going out. I'm ordering you to stay in your quarters unless it's an emergency. That's an _order,_" he said firmly, pointing his finger at me.

"I'm a civilian!"

"Not right now you aren't. You're in too deep and unless you want to get back home, I suggest you follow my orders."

My shoulders sagged and I nodded. "Yes, sir." Orders are orders.

"Good. I'm going back to our base. Casey said there were some messages waiting for me." As he walked away, he looked over his shoulder. "You remember what I said."

I nodded and waited until he was gone before I continued Moondoggie's walk. If I was going to be under house arrest until we found something on the missing Omni, I wanted to spend these last precious moments outdoors. We took the roundabout way back to the nurses' quarters and stopped off at the beach before heading back. I removed the makeshift lead off of Moondoggie and shooed him away. He grabbed a stick and ran into the surf like he had the day before. I sighed and sat down on the beach.

I thought about a lot of things when I was sitting there. How I was going to get home. I wondered how the Omni device worked and where it was. I thought about Major Neill. Getting home. Spies. Moondoggie. Getting home. Rhida Herringbone, the schoolma- I mean lieutenant. Getting Home. BLT's. Oops. Did I say that? Well, land's sakes alive! I was hungry for one!

Realizing it was already dusk, I rose and brushed the particles of sand off of my uniform. I was about to whistle for Moondoggie when I heard voices. Hushed, urgent voices. Familiar voices.


End file.
